//------------------------------//
// Storm of Chaos 
// Story: Breaking Free 
// by Nrdygrl 
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Chapter One
“Storm of Chaos”

Yes, indeed, the days were so very beautiful in the old times when young Equestria blossomed. It was a much different time and place, indeed. However, it was the world Celestia grew up in. On this day, when darkness still covered the land, the young princess trotted out to the courtyard. The day had finally come. It was the day she had waited so long for. Her hooves clopped on the stone floor of the castle. The guards posted at the door to the courtyard nodded and bowed their heads at her as a ‘good morning.’ Their eyes looked tired and heavy from having had the night shift. Celestia stepped out onto the great balcony. The excitement was building up inside her. Looking ahead, she saw her mother already standing on the balcony. She turned her head when she heard her daughter coming. 
“Oh, Celestia, good morning,” said Queen Solina smiling brightly. 
“Good morning, mother,” said Celestia walking up beside her. “Is time for the sunrise yet?”
“Almost,” her mother replied. She looked down at Celestia with bright sky-blue eyes. Her face glowed amidst the dull blue glow of the surrounding area, as the moon started to sink below the horizon. Both the ponies turned their heads and looked out at the lake below the balcony. There stood Celestia’s father, King Orion and her younger sister Luna. Luna’s horn glowed a soft indigo. Her eyes were closed tight in concentration. At long last, the moon was swallowed up by the silhouette of the distant mountains. Solina turned to Celestia again and nodded. “Now, my little Tia. Are you sure you are ready?” 
“I am,” Celestia replied with confidence. “I’ve been waiting and practicing but now I think I can do it!” She turned her face to the east and breathed deeply. Her horn glowed. She closed her eyes. She could feel deep in her soul the warmth…the power. The first time she had felt it, she thought she would cry. The sun’s beauty and strength was the most overwhelming thing any mortal pony could experience. She very well knew the power that was inside her. It was in her blood. Celestia felt the warmth rushing up from her heart and into her horn. Sparks shot out from her horn. Slowly, slowly the sun rose from the horizon. Its orange rays beamed across the violet mountain tops in sheer radiance and majesty. The sky blushed when the amber streams of light kissed it softly. The overwhelming joy of feeling the sunrise take place due to her own magic made Celestia gleefully spread her small wings out and rear up on her hind legs. She was accomplishing her purpose in life at last. 
Then, she opened her eyes to see the beautiful spectacle before her. The sun was so….big…and so….warm. However, in this moment, Celestia was interrupted by another feeling that crept its way into her heart. Fear. The unparalleled joy that overwhelmed her now scared her. The celestial body…the very entity for which she was named…was intimidating. In this moment, Celestia found herself losing concentration and energy. She felt sweat stream down her face. For the first time she actually felt the weight of the star. It weighed heavily down on her; she began to struggle and panic. She sank down on all fours. Her knees trembled and wobbled. She breathed heavily and whimpered slightly. Her muscles strained more and more every passing second. All of a sudden, she felt a sudden wave come over her. It was a huge wave of energy that seemed to take all the sun’s energy out of her grasp. Celestia breathed a huge sigh of relief. The weight was lifted off of her. She looked up with surprise at her mother. Queen Solina stepped ahead of her to the edge of the balcony. Her horn shot out fiery red flairs and white sparks. The sun instantly responded. Its brilliant face climbed over the horizon and shone bright and majestic against a magenta sky. Celestia gazed in awe at her mother. Her coat gleamed and glistened almost as golden and bright as the star itself. Her beautiful, glistening yellow and white mane streamed behind her and billowed into the air like flames. Her wings were like that of an eagle. She stretched them out and lifted her face to the sky. She opened her shimmering eyes and smiled at the sun. Celestia knew her mother was really looking upon the face of her and Luna’s grandmother….the sun goddess. She was up there, perhaps smiling back on her alicorn, demigoddess daughter…queen of Equestria…mother of Celestia and Luna…the very image of power and beauty. Celestia looked on with admiration as Solina sighed contently and turned to face her again. 
“I thought I could do it, Mother…” said Celestia hanging her head. “I have failed. I’m…I’m not strong enough.” Solina approached her daughter and nuzzled her with her nose. 
“You’ll get it next time, my dear,” she said with a comforting voice. Celestia looked over at the lake again. 
“Luna can raise and lower the moon....and she’s younger than me…” said Celestia pinning her ears back in envy. 
“The moon is smaller than the sun, Celestia,” Solina replied nudging her. “Luna is not more or less powerful than you are. There is no need to be jealous. You are very young, still, my little Tia. You must learn to be patient. Soon, you will be strong enough to handle the sun and its great power. For now, do not worry.” Celestia nodded and smiled brightly. “Come. Let us meet up with your father and sister,” said her mother turning and walking back inside the castle. 
The two alicorns walked over to the edge of the lake and eagerly greeted King Orion and Princess Luna. Celestia always loved how her father’s coat twinkled like the twinkling stars. It was a very dark blue, but there were bright white glowing spots all over it. His mane was black and billowed in the wind just likes Solina’s mane did. His wings looked more like moth wings. They were translucent and curled at the tips to make a half-moon-like shape. Celestia thought they always looked very mysterious….just like the night.  
“The dawn is just beautiful, dear,” said Orion walking over to Solina and nuzzling her. 
“Why, I would say ‘thank you,’ honey…but…our little Tia raised the sun almost all on her own this morning. She deserves praise,” Solina replied, returning the affectionate gesture to her husband. 
“Why…that is wonderful!” said Orion looking lovingly down at Celestia with his silver eyes. 
“She still needed help…” Luna muttered. “Father! Tell mother what happened tonight!”  
“Yes, of course. Luna and I took a hike up into the mountains. We watched the stars and talked to them. It was very lovely…though…they didn’t talk back to us.”
“That sounds like it was very wonderful,” Solina replied. “And…yes…I am aware that the stars are silent. This worries me.” 
“Oh, Solina…we shouldn’t concern ourselves with such matters in front of the children,” said Orion in a low tone. He turned back over to Luna. 
“Come, Luna. It is nearing the time for us to retire.” 
“Oh, father!” Luna cried in disappointment. “I am not the least bit tired! Must we go to bed now? Can’t I stay up and play with Tia for a little bit?”
“Yes, father,” said Celestia nodding her head vigorously. “I wanted to teach Luna a new spell I learned!”  
“Hmm….” Said Orion sighing. “I don’t know. What do you think, Solina?” 
“As long as Luna gets to bed by nine sharp, it’s fine with me,” said Solina nodding. 
“Very well,” said Orion. “But I want to see you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the evening.” Luna whinnied and pranced over to Celestia. 
“Tia! Show me that spell…and then let’s make up a new magic game to play!” she said jumping up and down.  
All of a sudden, the ground started to shake slightly. Celestia stood stiff. Luna stopped jumping. Their parents looked around suspiciously. The shaking was getting more violent. Trees surrounding the castle started to fall over due to the shaking. All four alicorns huddled together in surprise. Just then, as soon as the shaking started, it stopped. No one said anything. No questions were asked, as Celestia and Luna were both shocked and dazed to speak. The king and queen looked up at the sky, a wild look of terror filling their eyes. Thick, black clouds rolled in. Thunder roared and lightning crashed. The wind picked up in speed. Next, a great blast of wind and energy surged together to form a tornado. The massive funnel touched down on the ground before them. This was not a normal tornado, however, because its wind current wasn’t sucking anything into it. Instead, the trees in the surrounding area turned upside down. The grass lost its green color and turned gray. The castle in the background started to crack. The turrets started to break apart. The stones on the right side were giving way. Suddenly, a bolt a lightning shot down from the sky and hit the right side of the castle. It exploded and sent a giant shock wave across the lawn. Palace guards flew or teleported out of the building to escape. Celestia and Luna screamed and held onto each other. They crouched low on the ground in fear. Celestia looked up when she felt the wind die down. The tornado had stopped spinning. All that was left was a tall purple figure. 
The strange dragon-like creature stared them and laughed in a sinister tone. She had piercing green and black eyes. Her body was shaped like that of a snake’s, and her underbelly was a pale gray color. Her lower body had six long insect like legs. Her upper torso consisted of wings that were big black raven wings. One of her hands was a panther paw; the other was a massive vulture claw. She gave the alicorn quintet a toothy grin. 
“Why, hello! Wasn’t that a decent surprise?” she said chuckling. 
“Eris!” said Solina and Orion at the same time. Shocked, they both approached her.
“Hm…alicorns seem to have a better memory than I thought they did,” said the purple creature smirking. 
“Wha….how…?” said Solina turning to her husband in shock. “How could she have come back?!” 
“This…this cannot be….” said Orion, looking very confused. Eris laughed at them.
“Foolish equines…” she snickered. “You haven’t the slightest idea of why I’m here. I’ll tell you…but elsewhere.” She motioned toward the mountain in the distance. “If you don’t want to see me do more damage, I suggest you hurry!” 
“Wait!” said Solina abruptly. She turned to Orion. “The children must stay somewhere,” she said to him. 
“No!” said Eris looking down at Celestia and Luna. Celestia cowered down again in fear of her. Luna buried her face in her hooves. “They will come too. And…if they don’t…this land will crumble around you. Alicorns…you have an hour.” She cackled and disappeared in a flash. The storm went away, but the sky was still darkened by clouds. The king and queen turned to each other but no one said a word. There was dead silence. This shocking turn of events left Celestia and Luna frightened and dazed. 
“Orion, what do we do?!” said Solina frantically. 
“We have to do what she said,” Orion replied sighing. “I don’t like this anymore then you do, dear…but…the children must come with us. We must head into the mountains to meet up with her and see what she wants. We don’t have time to stand here worrying about what will be….not when Equestria is in danger again.” Solina nodded. 
“Mother, who…who is this Eris?” Celestia questioned. “She’s scary!” 
“Look at what she…she did to our home!” Luna yelled. “We….we need to teach her a lesson!” She shook with fear and anger. Solina and Orion looked at each other worriedly. They didn’t answer Celestia’s question. 
“Oh dear…” said Solina at length. “We never wanted you two to be involved in these matters…not yet. But…it would seem Eris has ruined this as well. I fear we must tell them the story, Orion.” 
“Yes, I agree,” the king replied. “You two are still young…and you may not fully understand, but your mother and I will try to explain everything.”
“First things first, honey,” said Solina quickly. “Let us carry the girls on our backs and fly into the mountains. Luna cannot fly yet, and Celestia cannot go up that high.” 
“Yes. Hop on, you two,” said Orion nodding to the two fillies. Luna got onto her father’s back and Celestia got onto her mother’s back. Celestia was terrified, but she didn’t question her parents. Eris seemed like a cruel enemy that didn’t care how much damage she did or who it affected. She had to be stopped, and she hoped her parents had the strength to stop her…however they had to do it. The two alicorns flew up into the dark sky, soaring high over the burning castle. Celestia felt a bit sick being up this high. She glanced to her right at her father. Luna was clutching his neck with her hooves. Her eyes were closed tight. She looked absolutely terrified…even more so than Celestia herself. 
“Now, listen, my daughters,” said Solina after they had been flying for a few minutes and Luna and Celestia were starting to get used to the feeling. “Listen closely and your father and I will tell you the history of when Equestria was new. We will tell you about Eris the Lady of Chaos and the betrayer of this land." 

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Eris stood on the mountain top, an hourglass before her. She watched the sand fall with a smirk creeping across her face. A small presence nervously moved closer to her right side. She glanced to her right and only grinned wider. Her plan was perfect. 
“Mother…” said the creature with a questioning look on his face. “Why are we here? Wh…what happened to the sky?” he looked up at the dark, looming clouds. “And…that castle?” he peered into the distance at the smoking castle. 
“Do not concern yourself with that, my son,” said Eris chuckling at his ignorance. “It is only natural for us. As a draconequus, you will soon understand the true beauty of chaos. Your father invented chaos…as his name. He is the god of all things that Order restricts. ‘Tis a shame those equines don’t understand such things. However…one day they will learn. This land of Equestria will be yours. 
“Mine?” said the young draconequus, his eyes gleaming at the distant kingdom before him. 
“Yes…Discord….yours.”


TO BE CONTINUED…